Stop Sticks help put the brakes on escaping criminals

It was a 2 a.m. traffic stop on Interstate 95 and the suspect pulled out a gun, backed off Boynton Beach cops and then sped away.

After a few miles of careening down the highway, the bandit headed for the Linton Boulevard exit. Waiting there was a Delray Beach police officer, holding what looked like an overweight swimming pool noodle. As the fleeing car came toward him, the officer tossed the noodle into the road, resembling a fisherman casting a net.

The car bumped over the noodle — and 30 seconds later its tires were flat. End of chase.

That's how Stop Sticks work. While most people have a vague idea of what they do — helping to stop vehicles pursued by police — how they actually work and when they are used is a mystery.

In Boynton, Stop Sticks have helped put the brakes on more than 70 chases since the department started using them in 1996, shortly after they were invented.

Boynton Beach Police Training Sgt. Sedrick Aiken said, "It's not perfect but it does work more times than not."

What makes the tool work is the design. Inside each three-sided stick is a Styrofoam-type material. Three rows of 12 hollow spikes point out of each side.

Once the stick is run over, the hollow spike pierces a tire and the tip falls off, allowing air to pass through at a controlled rate to prevent a tire blowout.

"The car [becomes] like pushing a brick down the road," said Aiken. "You can't get anywhere fast."

After that, the officer throwing the sticks must pull them off the road to prevent pursuing police cruisers from flattening their tires.

Ken Greves, a 26-year veteran of Indiana State Police, invented Stop Sticks as a tool to put an end to high-speed chases, which often end badly for innocent bystanders.

Policies for using Stop Sticks vary by department, but they're typically not used unless a felony, like an armed robbery or aggravated battery, happens.

"We don't use them for running red lights or not using a turn signal," Aiken said.

Before using them, police are trained using Stop Sticks without spikes, and they also watch videos and take classes.

In the Florida Highway Patrol, only squad sergeants are trained to use them, spending 90 minutes in classroom training, then another 90 minutes to practice throwing them, according to FHP Cpl. Gary Baker.

"With the congestion of South Florida, it makes it a challenge to use them sometimes because we have to think of the public," Baker said.

Outside of high-speed chases, officers use the sticks on stationary vehicles during stakeouts or while executing search warrants. They are placed near tires to help immobilize possible getaway vehicles.

Among cities in Palm Beach County, Boynton Beach Police use Stop Sticks far more often than other departments, sometimes with unintended consequences.

"We've flattened our own tires, but it's more effective than not," Aiken said.

In the end, Aiken sees them as valuable tools that can help keep the public and officers safe.

Used correctly, officers are supposed to find cover behind something substantial like a building after throwing the sticks, rather than just their patrol car.

If not, the situation can quickly turn deadly.

Nationwide, at least 23 law enforcement officers have died using Stop Sticks, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

Two of those deaths were in Palm Beach County in 2007, when deputies Donta Manuel and Jonathan Wallace were killed as they tried to snatch Stop Sticks off the road during a chase south of Pahokee.

Somehow, the 80-foot cord on the sticks that deputies use to pull the sticks off the road became detached. That's when the deputies went into the road and tried to snatch the sticks.

They were hit by the deputy chasing the suspect's car.

Despite the dangers, many departments weigh the risks and see Stop Sticks as a better option than using techniques like a maneuver in which officers try to spin out vehicles they're chasing.

"We don't want to put our officer in a position of danger," Aiken said. "The No. 1 goal is to end the pursuit as fast as possible.